The Philippine representative in the 2019 Universeum Conference in Brno, Czech Republic, presented an exhibition of commissioned collaborative artworks centered on the journey of nation-building of the Philippines.
Led by Universeum, an international organization of university and college museums, this year’s edition followed the theme “University Museums and Collections as Networks for Understanding the World: Shaping Narratives of Knowledge for the Past, Present, and the Future.” It was organized and hosted by the Mendel Museum of Masaryk University in Brno, together with Charles University in Prague, Czech Republic and the University of Bratislava in Slovakia.
The four-day series of discussions and lectures served as a platform for the participants to establish networks and engage in a discourse in light of digital initiatives, student engagement, and the preservation of contemporary heritage.
The sole presenter from the Philippines was Architect Gerry Torres, director of the Center for Campus Art of De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde.
Torres brought with him, through the “Stations of a Nation” project, the institution’s contemporary and innovative approaches to bringing to light the country’s socio-political issues such as unfair labor practices, corruption, poverty, homelessness, and the crisis concerning China, among others.
The “Stations of a Nation” project by visual and video artist Manny Montelibano together with Benilde’s students from the design, arts, deaf education, and consular and diplomatic affairs programs, drew inspiration from the traditional Catholic Stations of the Cross and the president’s State of the Nation Address.
Responding to the question “What does it mean to be a Filipino today?,” the apprentices, under the guidance of Montelibano, conceptualized and designed 14 installations using different mediums set in various strategic spaces at the School of Design and Arts Building.
Their works turned whatever space available into an area of artistic expression and reflection. Currently, 11 out of 14 art installations are on view while the remaining three artworks are presently in production.
In September, the “Stations of a Nations” will once again be presented by Architect Torres at the upcoming UMAC (University Museums and Collections) Tokyo Seminar at the Keio University Art Center in Tokyo, Japan.
